What Comic-Con means to San Diego

The pop culture universe has once again descended on America’s Finest City for the start of what has become a signature San Diego event — Comic-Con International.

As it does every year, our city has been transformed into a distant galaxy of sorts — in and around the convention center, throughout downtown and beyond. Buildings have been turned into creative billboards, and cool interactive exhibits will be busy promoting upcoming motion pictures, television series, the latest video games and more.

There will be legions of costumed characters — from superheroes and cyborgs to trekkies and zombies — parading through downtown. And, of course, plenty of A-list celebrities will pop in, adding to the excitement of it all.

Yes, this is Comic-Con — born and raised right here in San Diego. It’s about as San Diego as fish tacos and fighter jets. And it’s fun for everyone — young and old.

Since the first Comic-Con 44 years ago, the convention has grown exponentially, shooting through the stratosphere in both popularity and financial might. Not only has it become a tremendous source of pride for San Diego, it’s also become a tremendous source of revenue for our city — revenue that helps pay for San Diego’s unmatched quality of life.

Whether you’re into pop culture or not, whether you’ve ever read a comic book or traded a Star Wars card, every San Diegan benefits from Comic-Con.

The financial benefits are, well, out of this world.

During the convention’s four-day run, those attending Comic-Con, as well as those associated with it, will spend upward of $77 million all across town, at bars and restaurants, at our attractions, riding the trolley, renting a pedicab, and staying in our hotels.

The convention will also produce about $2.5 million in hotel taxes — all of which goes directly to the city to spend on services such as police, fire and street resurfacing throughout our community.

Overall, this year’s Comic-Con will pump $175 million into the regional economy. This number jumps considerably when you factor in all the other spending related to ancillary events and attractions that aren’t officially associated with the convention.

Without a doubt, Comic-Con has a deep and wide impact on San Diego.

That is why we must keep it here.

And one of the best ways we can do that is by expanding our convention center. Not only would this increase our chances of keeping Comic-Con, which has outgrown the center, but — just as important — it also would allow San Diego to host more and larger conventions.

This year, San Diego will turn away convention business simply because our center doesn’t have ample space. This means a substantial loss of jobs, visitor spending and tax revenue.

Fortunately, San Diego is pressing ahead with plans to enlarge the center. As envisioned, the proposed expansion would add more than 400,000 square feet of space, giving our center the most contiguous exhibit space on the entire West Coast of North America. It would be funded almost entirely though an assessment on hotels.

For San Diegans, it will include a spectacular five-acre park atop the expansion with stunning views out over San Diego Bay and the Pacific Ocean. It will include areas for public performances and family picnics.

The project will create 4,000 construction jobs and 7,000 permanent ones — at all levels of the tourism industry and those that support it. All told, it will generate an additional $700 million in regional economic impact, along with millions in tax revenue for the city.

While the project already has been endorsed by San Diego Port Commissioners and the City Council, it must still be approved by the California Coastal Commission. They are scheduled take up the project in the fall.

It should be everyone’s hope that the commission sees this expansion’s enormous value — to our economy, to our environment and to our overall quality of life.

In the meantime, it’s all about Comic-Con for the next few days. What a wonderful event for our entire region. May it live long and prosper right here in San Diego.